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motion

This motion was passed unanimously at a UCU branch meeting at CONEL College in Tottenham, 15 January 2014. You can download it as a PDF or as a Microsoft Word document.

Branch notes

That the jury at the inquest into the killing of Mark Duggan concluded that he had not been holding a gun when he was shot dead by armed police

That despite this the killing was found ‘lawful’

That even though Mark’s criminal record was minor, with two fines on his record, the media continually referred to Mark as a violent gangster and ‘one of the 48 most dangerous criminals in Europe’

That the police and the IPCC actively collaborated with the media to spread lies and disinformation in the days after Mark’s killing – e.g. that there was a ‘shoot-out’ in which an officer had been ‘saved’ when a bullet lodged in his radio (the bullet was actually from a police gun)

That Mark Duggan is the latest in a series of black men and women from Tottenham who have died at the hands of the police since 1985 – Cynthia Jarrett, Joy Gardner, Roger Sylvester, now Mark – and for whose deaths no police officer has faced criminal charges

That in stark contrast, many young people in our community faced draconian prison sentences for minor crimes committed in the heat of the riots following Mark’s death

Branch believes

That the verdict was influenced by the racist way in which Mark’s character was tarnished by the police and media

That the decision to find it lawful for the police to shoot an unarmed person has put all young black people in our college and beyond at risk

That everyone in our community, irrespective of race, age and background, should be entitled to walk the streets without fear

Branch agrees

To send our condolences and solidarity to the family of Mark Duggan at this very difficult time

To support the family in their continuing fight for justice for Mark

To inform David Lammy MP and the local press about the branch’s concern